How Will OCS 2010 Fit into the Cloud

May 5, 2010 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

I spent yesterday at the Web 2.0 Expo. (It's still going on, go see!) While there I talked with reps from Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, O”Reilly Media, a new TLD (.CO), and several different cloud-based software companies.

It gave me a lot of information on where the IT industry is going in the next few years.

As far as anybody knows, the coming business trends will look like this:

More competition in the social media space.
Social apps becoming social business platforms.
Cloud computing becoming an integral part of business operations and offered products.
Software-as-a-Service growing into Platform-as-a-Service at all levels of business.
Mobile already on its way to becoming a central piece in marketing strategy.
Touch interfaces becoming commonplace.

And I thought, where does OCS fit into all this?

I brainstormed on this a bit on the BART ride back. Somewhere in the tunnel I thought of using the new OCS 2010 for an Exhibit A.

Competition? What Competition?

Now, the big thing with OCS 2010 is that it's intended to act as a completely Voice-over-IP replacement to PBX phone systems. Given that every business uses phones , there's clearly a need. But how many companies are responding to it?

Here's the really interesting part. At the Web 2.0 Expo, I only found TWO companies offering a voice over IP solution: MangoSpring and babyTEL. babyTEL's solution is for Web applications like Facebook. So it's complementary to OCS, not a competitor. (And I'm not sure about MangoSpring.)

Is OCS 2010 the Voice Option for Platform-as-a-Service?

OCS 2010 is coming into Web 2.0/3.0/whatever-version-it-is-now as the vanguard of a potentially-huge trend: VoIP in the cloud. (Yes, it can run as a managed service just as easily as local.)

So let's look at those trends again. More competition means more communication. Social business platforms will need voice. Cloud-based VoIP? Check.

And for the last point: the new Windows Phone works with OCS via Office Communicator Mobile. So mobiles are covered too.

It looks like OCS 2010 fits in pretty well with the IT industry of tomorrow. In fact, I think it'll be the centerpiece for business communication in the coming years.

What are your thoughts on the Web 2.0 Expo? On OCS 2010? Leave a comment, let us know.

Tags: OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP, Voice over IP, Web 2.0

Four Predictions on OCS in 2010

January 6, 2010 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Reference, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

Welcome to 2010! Are we back to scrambling already?

Before we get too crazy, let me make a few predictions about OCS. (It’’s the thing to do this time of year.) We”re headed for another year of big shake-ups and racing towards better-priced options. I”m sure Office Communications Server will be involved in some of it. Though I”ll freely admit, I may deny one or two of these by the time 2011 rolls around.

Prediction #1: OCS 2010′’s release will come with calls to end the PBX. It won”t…not yet.

Office Communications Server 2010 is slated for release either in Q2 or Q3 2010. We”ll hear a lot of buzz beforehand, along with calls to 100% replace PBX phone systems with OCS. (I”m not actually the first to say this.)

If it truly is a PBX-killer - and I”m hopeful it is - then these calls will be justified. However, OCS adoption over PBX won”t begin in earnest until 2011. It takes time to make such a big change - time to get used to the idea, and time to plan the change itself. Smaller companies will get a jump on OCS 2010 instead. They don”t always have a PBX to replace.

Prediction #2: OCS 2007 R2 will grow as a hosted service, even with OCS 2010′’s release.

I”m no economist; I won”t even try predicting what the markets will do this year. What I will say is that more companies will look for more ways to save. Startup costs, trying to grow without much budget, no desire to buy all-new servers…these factors will push more companies toward hosted services as a lower-cost option. Judging from the adoption rates and interest we”ve received, I”m expecting companies in the mid-to-upper range of SMBs to take the most advantage here.

Prediction #3: We”ll see a growing comfort with VoIP as a phone system.

Voice over IP is becoming a more accepted alternative to regular phone lines. In a way, we have Google and Skype to thank for this. The rampant popularity of Google Voice, and the popularity of Skype (even in business use) shows people are more comfortable with the idea of using the Web for voice communication now.

When OCS 2007 first came out, many people didn”t trust its VoIP capability as a reliable phone system. That was just 2 years ago. Now that technology has caught up and social adoption is higher, that lack of trust won”t be applied to OCS 2010.

Prediction #4: OCS 2010′’s 64-bit structure may discourage some from upgrading.

There is a problem in all this. OCS 2007 R2 is available only in 64-bit. Exchange 2010 just shipped with a 64-bit version. It’’s not hard to imagine that OCS 2010 will be 64-bit only. This will cause some sticking for those companies who haven”t moved to 64-bit servers yet; upgrading to OCS 2010 would mean buying new 64-bit servers. For those companies looking to SAVE on communications, spending extra is a contradiction. And a big upgrade objection.

(There’’s always the hosted option though!)

A few things to think about. Overall I think OCS” prospects are good, even with the 64-bit snag. Some will say the new smartphones coming out are a danger to OCS, but I think they have a more complementary role than a competitive one. We”ll have to see where 2010 takes us, won”t we?

Technorati Tags:Microsoft business technology OCS 2007 VoIP OCS 2010

Tags: OCS 2010, Voice over IP, Voice over IP

Three SIP Resources You”ll Need for VoIP

November 18, 2009 by Chris Williams · 2 Comments
Filed under: OCS 2007, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

Considering a switch to a VoIP-based phone system? You”ll need to know about SIP Trunking.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) allows voice traffic to travel over data networks. It connects legacy phones and the Internet. In order to do this right, you”ll need to know how SIP functions. On its own, and integrated into OCS 2007.

These resources popped up in my alerts and/or RSS recently. Two are downloads; one’’s an online guide.

1. Podcast: “Reality Check: Five Things You Should Know About SIP”

Start here if you”re unsure what SIP does/can do. Download the 8-minute podcast or listen to it on the page.
The five things are (in brief):

SIP is more than just telephony;
Trunking enables end-to-end IP (lots of applications);
SIP is about Presence (remember what we”ve said about Presence?);
The SIP Forum is available for reference;
Mobile SIP is out there too.

2. White Paper: “The Benefits of Using a Demarcation Device When Integrating Legacy Voice, SIP Trunks and Microsoft OCS R2″

Published by NET, this white paper makes a thorough case for switching to SIP/OCS over PBX phones. Some of its examples include better voice quality, cost savings, & more efficient use of bandwidth.

The white paper’’s about using a demarcation device (their own product) to help integrate SIP. But don”t let that sway you; the reference material is great. It even shows a lot of the inherent complexities of an OCS-based phone system. (I think they went a bit overhead with that topic; our OCS implementations don”t usually get near that complex!).

Download the white paper at the UC Strategies Blog.

3. OCSPedia’’s “Step-by-Step Mediation Server Guide” Online Resource.

One of Mediation Server’’s primary functions is to translate SIP-over-TCP to SIP-over-TLS. In other words, if you want to call out with OCS? You need a Mediation Server in place to handle SIP.

OCSPedia.com has kindly written out a series of detailed instructions on installing/configuring Mediation Server. And several posts on what it does/how to make use of it.

OCSPedia.com Step-by-Step Mediation Server Guide

These days, SIP Trunking is an essential component of any serious VoIP system. Even major telco providers have SIP Trunking available now (for approved hardware of course; we keep a list). So read up!

Anything more to add on SIP? Post it in the comments, or email me.

Technorati Tags:business Microsoft technology OCS 2007 SIP VoIP

Tags: OCS 2007, SIP, Voice over IP, Voice over IP

Avoid “The Choking Line” — Don”t Use Consumer-Grade Broadband Lines for VoIP

November 5, 2009 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Voice over IP

The main difference between Voice over IP and POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service; your typical desk phones) is the fact that Voice over IP runs all of its connections through Internet lines. NOT phone lines.

Sometimes people forget this. So we remind them during initial meetings. You”ll need a high-speed line for good-quality VoIP conversations.

When we say this, their thoughts often switch to the most immediate Internet line solution: consumer broadband connections. Like through Comcast or AT&T.

“That”ll work for VoIP phones, right?”

Sigh.

Why Consumer-Grade Broadband Chokes VoIP

Most consumer broadband packages are measured in up/down speeds. Say 3MBps down/512Kbps up, for example. That stands for 3 megabits-per-second download, half a megabit-per-second upload. This is part of the problem. Phone conversations are two-way. People talking, people listening. If both upload and download speeds aren”t at least close? The conversation breaks up all over the place.

The major reason this occurs comes from VoIP’’s underlying technology. Voice over IP works by packet-switched telephony - digitizing your voice and sending it in separate packets through the Internet. Each packet takes its own route to the destination, where they”re reassembled back into voice.

Some people consider this a detriment to VoIP use. It isn”t really; the voice speed is comparable, and you gain other advantages from VoIP. Still, the speed needed for proper packet switching in a business environment can”t be found in DSL or basic cable. If you tried it, conversations will resemble traffic at rush hour with all its stops and starts.

Leave consumer-level broadband to Skype. If you run a business, you need a business-grade Internet line to handle VoIP.

What Kind of Internet Line is Needed for Business VoIP

For your standard office of 20 people or so, you”ll want a dedicated T1 line. Go higher - a couple T1s, a T3 or OC3 - if you”re dealing with multiple office locations and lots of employees.

P.S. - Don”t forget about SIP. SIP trunking connects your VoIP phones to the main POTS telephone network. Bridging the gap between packet switching and regular phone circuits. A good explanation of SIP trunking can be found at Siptrunk.org.

Which ISPs do you use/recommend for VoIP? Drop us a comment and let us know.

Technorati Tags: Voice over IP business Microsoft technology OCS 2007 R2

Tags: OCS 2007, SIP, T1, Voice over IP, Voice over IP

Is Moving to VoIP a Smart Thing to Do in a Recession?

September 24, 2009 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized

Sifting through LinkedIn Answers the other day (our company profile is here, if you”d like to look), I came across several Questions about IT in the economic downturn. No surprise; everyone’’s thinking about it.

A lot of people are thinking about VoIP too, it turns out. I found questions about not only its technical aspects, but its business value too. Two examples:

What Does A Business VoIP Solution Mean To You?
What are the business drivers behind VoIP buying decisions today?
(Must be a LinkedIn member to view.)

It makes sense. Everyone wants to (or must) get 105% from every dollar spent.

We”ve actually received more inquiries for new OCS 2007 installs (with VoIP) in the past 6 months than we had the whole year prior. So I”m wondering. Companies are switching to VoIP more. Why? Do they perceive it as a cost-saver? Is it a good move to make?

After reviewing more Answers and talking with our engineers, I think I can give some reasons why moving to VoIP is a smart thing right now. Not a perfect solution for everyone, but it could work depending on your business needs.

The Reasons People are Looking to VoIP

First, the positives. If these appeal to your business, then VoIP will make a good investment.

Cost over PBX — Yes, a VoIP system can save a lot of money over PBX. That saving is NOT guaranteed, however. Large-scale, multi-office setups can cost almost as much as installing a PBX. In smaller networks, VoIP will usually save you more (see “What About Hidden Costs?” below for more).
Integration with Software — OCS 2007 integrates with Outlook, SharePoint, & Office. Integration means fewer steps to talk with someone, so there’’s a time savings here.
Unification of Communication Systems — This is the top benefit a complete VoIP system can provide. Unified Communications, as I”ve blogged about before, builds more communication options around regular old voice. Instant Messaging, working with smartphones, Presence indicators…you know the drill by now.
Mobility (People, Offices) — Let’’s face it, you can”t pick up a PBX with your hands. But you can move a VoIP phone from one office to another with them. And it”ll work there too.
Consolidation of Services — In the past you”d need a third-party solution for things like conferencing (e.g. WebEx), IM, even long distance. Switching to a VoIP system with Unified Communications nowadays, you get those built-in.

VoIP Concerns Everyone Has

Even aside from cost (by far the #1 worry these days!), VoIP has stirred up its own concerns. I don”t think these are enough to discourage a VoIP switch, but just in case:

Will the Phone Ring? — Switching to VoIP means you”re using Internet lines instead of standard phone lines. A disruption of service means the phones go down too. It’’s a small risk; uptime is close to 98% by standard. But people like to magnify this into an arms-flailing horror story too often.
Does Voice Mail Work? — In OCS, voicemail is not turned on by default. It must be enabled, and set to funnel voicemails to Outlook. I”m mentioning it here because people just forget to do this much of the time!
Can You Hear Me (Now)? — Call quality can fluctuate, depending on network conditions. Sometimes people complain of an echo on the line, or brief silences (caused by packet drops) lasting a second or two.
What About Hidden Costs? — Generally speaking, VoIP cost comes from 3 places: High-speed connection to manage the VoIP in/out (monthly); Setup cost for hardware/software (one-time); and Account fees to run the VoIP system, internally or through a hosted provider (monthly). That’’s it.

Any VoIP system must do one of two things: It must provide a direct business benefit, or it must reduce operations costs. If you find that VoIP brings you one (or both!) of these, then it’’s a good investment. If not, hold off for now. Write it in for a revisit when the economy gets some steam behind it again.

Are there other VoIP factors you think make a difference in today’’s economic climate? Leave them in the Comments!

Technorati Tags:business Microsoft technology Technologynews OCS 2007 R2 Office communications server VoIP

Tags: Recession Spending, Save Money on IT, Voice over IP

More Companies Joining the VoIP/Unified Communications Market: Is This Good for OCS Users?

September 9, 2009 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

I received two interesting articles in this morning’’s Google Alerts for “Unified Communications.” (Got to stay informed!) What was interesting was that both articles discussed UC services others than Microsoft’’s. Both represent different ways to introduce the Unified Communications idea to businesses.

Both could also pose a problem to the whole Unified Communications/VoIP market.

The first article is: Skype Taps ShoreTel for Skype-to-SIP UC

Skype for SIP allows businesses to receive incoming calls from Skype users via SIP-enabled UC systems. ShoreTel customers can also make outgoing calls from their ShoreTel UC systems to other phones at Skype rates (very cheap).

The second is: Avaya Positioned in “Leader Quadrant” for Unified Communications by Gartner Inc.

Avaya’’s Aura is a UC package that interoperates with legacy communication systems like PBX. Much like OCS, it offers presence, IM, and SIP-based calling. It even works with Microsoft Office Communicator if you like.

What’’s Good About These Offerings

First off, it’’s competition in the Unified Communications market. Competition (even indirect competition) helps spur product improvement. Business users get better pricing, and more options.

Second, Skype for SIP makes for an interesting bridge between corporate Unified Communications and Skype. Skype, while mostly a consumer-level service, is popular for cheap international calls. This new offering could provide businesses a cheap-and-easy way to make those calls from now on.

What Problems These Offerings Could Cause

The UC market will get more confusing. With more and more UC services (some picking & choosing what they”ll offer) customers are left unsure of what they”ll get. That uncertainty will carry over onto other products, like OCS. When you don”t know if you”ll get what you need, you tend not to try.

Issues of security and scale crop up too. I”m sure Skype will take every precaution they can to protect business communications through their network. But the fact that Skype originated in the consumer arena (and most of its users are still consumers) will call their security effectiveness into question.

The consumer base raises questions about the very future of Skype, in fact. Will Skype make a further push into the business arena than this? Or is it just an add-on to nab business users? The latter may be true, according to comments on the topic. SkypeJournal.com actually decried the new Skype-to-SIP offering as “abandoning Skype’’s central tenets”!

So, IS This Good for OCS?

Actually, I think so. There’’s some competition (mostly from Avaya), but that can improve things for everyone. OCS 2007 also presents a very unified Unified Communications solution (if you”ll pardon my repetition there).

The best products aren”t necessarily the ones who are there first. They”re the products who are there to last. And with OCS 2010 on the horizon, this one’’s sticking around.

Technorati Tags:business Microsoft technology Technologynews OCS 2007 R2 Office communications server Unified Communications SIP VoIP

Tags: IM, Presence, SIP, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

Why Posts Have Been Slow: Using OCS During a Website Rework!

July 8, 2009 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Voice over IP

Yes, it’’s true - posting has been slow on the OCS Insider. I have a reason why though! In fact, that reason is the subject for today’’s post.

My company has been going full-speed-ahead on a new website version for the past few weeks. We”ve been planning it since March, and the timetable has now rolled right on top of us.

We”ve been using Telerik’’s Sitefinity CMS platform to build our new website. It’’s fantastic and a huge timesaver (Telerik’’s our partner; we recommend it to all new website clients). But porting over 200+ pages into a whole new layout with new content, new SEO and new Web services takes a while.

Of course we”ve been using our OCS setup to communicate through this. Without it, we wouldn”t be nearly this close to done.

OCS Has Come in Handy
HELPFUL INCIDENT #1 — Just yesterday, I emailed one of our programmers with a Telerik question. He called me (through OCS VoIP) right afterward to discuss my questions. Said, “It would be quicker for me to explain it this way.” And it was. He told me where to find the right code snippet in no time at all.

HELPFUL INCIDENT #2 — Last week our network connections went sideways for about half an hour. (Murphy’’s Law. Had to be.) We couldn”t see each other’’s Presence status, get email, log in, nothing.

Except we could still make VoIP calls.

I found this out by getting a call out of the blue. I blinked at it a couple times before clicking. But lo and behold, it actually worked! I”m not quite sure how - apparently the VoIP connection wasn”t as affected as the network. The issue was fixed and we went about our business.

HELPFUL INCIDENT #3 — We had a meeting 3 weeks ago to gear up for the final stages. Our boss shared her desktop to show us where the new tools would be displayed in the new layout. Anyone who’’s ever used VNC knows how fun it is to watch your screen highlight things on its own.

Add to these all the IM conversations, Presence reminders (”Working on Portfolio, don”t bug me”) etc., and OCS has played a huge role in getting us through this rework.

So Why Blog About It?
Merely as a real-world reminder of how handy OCS 2007 can be. Last year, before we began using it, I wouldn”t have even considered using IM in a business setting. I”d heard all the myths: “It’’s not secure!” “People will waste all day chatting!” And since I use IM at home, I figured that’’s where it belonged.

Nowadays, doing work without OCS” tools would take too long for my scrambling work schedule.

Pretty soon we”ll have a brand-new website up at www.planetmagpie.com for everyone to enjoy (and make use of). OCS helped!

Tags: IM, IM security, OCS 2007, Voice over IP, website redesign

Nortel Liquidating Unified Communications Assets

July 1, 2009 by Chris Williams · Leave a Comment
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

Where Will Enterprises Get VoIP in the Future?

There’’s a problem on the horizon for OCS!

In 2006, Microsoft and Nortel announced a partnership called the Innovative Communications Alliance (ICA). This alliance was intended for developing/selling Unified Communications & VoIP systems to corporations.

However, as we see here…
Nortel’’s Liquidation Could Cripple UC Relationship with Microsoft

Nortel has had to enter Chapter 11, and must liquidate its assets to satisfy bankruptcy concerns.

What did Nortel do for the partnership?
Through the ICA, Nortel helped develop telecom products for use with Office Communications Server 2007. Specifically, a platform for connecting IP-based communications to PBX phones. Nortel also provided consulting to enterprise businesses on putting in VoIP communications systems (running OCS, naturally).

So what does the liquidation mean for Unified Communications and OCS?

It means we”ve lost one good option for VoIP-related technology. However, other options are forthcoming.

The ComputerWorld article indicates that Nortel may sell its enterprise division to Avaya Networks. Since Microsoft already has a partnership with Avaya, it could continue offering Unified Communications technology that way.

Microsoft could even snap up Nortel’’s former VoIP customers themselves. Though I think having their partners handle those is an easier course.

Competition Brewing
Luckily, Nortel wasn”t the only one working on Unified Communications technology!

The ICA was due to end in 2010 anyway. So, other companies have been working on VoIP-related hardware. For example, this article discusses a new OCS gateway due out from Dialogic and ESTOS this month.

Dialogic’’s gateway solutions are used by small and mid-market businesses to build VoIP PBX replacements, or integrate OCS 2007 into an existing PBX system.

(Disclaimer: We”ve recently partnered with Dialogic to provide some of this very hardware to our own clients.)

What Will Happen to OCS 2007 Enterprise Integrations?
Nortel worked largely at the enterprise level. Dialogic and the up-and-coming solutions work more toward the small and mid-market areas. So there’’s still a potential disconnect at the enterprise level.

If Avaya gets Nortel’’s enterprise division, they”ll be able to provide enterprise-level VoIP systems. But this is a perfect opportunity for smaller, more targeted companies to offer alternatives. The waters for OCS in the enterprise may get choppy for a little while.

This should be a good thing though. With OCS 2007 adoption growing like it is - many companies looking for a cheaper, more full-featured PBX alternative - demand is solid enough to whip up competition.

I”m sad to see Nortel go - they had some great products. But, you know what they say about one door closing.

Tags: nortel, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

Could You Use OCS in Colleges? Sure!

May 1, 2009 by Chris Williams · 1 Comment
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications, Voice over IP

The Three UC Amigos were asked about switching from PBX on a university campus to OCS.
(Read the article here: Low Cost IP Phones for OCS? )

I thought, “Great idea!”

A college infrastructure suits OCS pretty well. Up-to-date architecture, lots of communications going on every day…and there’’s high staff turnaround. Moving people (and equipment) around practically every semester can get tiresome. Normally.

If OCS is configured for it, it will auto-recognize IP phones at a new location. Staff can literally unplug their phones, head to their new desk, and plug back in. Phone works.

This can even work for dorms, too. (Most students have cellphones these days, but there’’s still a few stragglers!) All you do is issue a phone to the room. “Here, plug this into the wall.” They do. And it works.

There’’s a link to snom IP phones on their post too. I haven”t tested out one of these phones, but they look pretty darn good. We”ll have to get our hands on one for a review!

Tags: college phones, Voice over IP

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